


Civilians

by fishfingersandjellybabies



Category: Batman (Comics)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-12
Updated: 2015-08-12
Packaged: 2018-04-14 07:32:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4556034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fishfingersandjellybabies/pseuds/fishfingersandjellybabies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I’ve taken note of your opinions and will remember them next time we want to go out as a family. God forbid we do anything like <i>normal</i> people do.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Civilians

**Author's Note:**

> Halloween Prompt 2014.
> 
> I focused a lot more on the ‘random bad guy attacking’ than on the 'they’re at a fall-festival type thing at an amusement park.’ Barbara was not on the day-trip with them due to previous engagements, thus is the only one in her actual vigilante gear. The little girls are too young and too terrified to be listening to what the Wayne boys are saying, thus no filter on identity talk or language. Damian is tiny, that’s why Dick can get away with carrying him for so long, especially in their civvies. It seems the more I do of these prompts, the less Halloweenish they are. Oops.

“I hate you.” Damian grumbled against Dick’s neck. Dick just hummed, repositioning Damian’s legs around his waist and then patting his back. Damian retaliated by digging his nails into Dick’s shoulders. “Grayson _, I hate you so much_.” 

“I am aware.” Dick responded absently as he turned away from the scene at the end of the small alleyway. To anyone else, it would look like he was trying to shield Damian from the battle with his body, when in fact, he knew Damian could see everything much easier this way. 

“I think I hate you more than _Drake_.” Damian continued, hooking his chin on Dick’s shoulder. His subtle shifts proved he was watching someone – most likely Cassandra. “That’s how much I hate you.” 

“Harsh.” 

“I have to agree with him, Dick.” Tim agreed from the ground, where he was hunched over two small girls who had been separated from their parents in the fray.  “This sucks.” 

“I’ve taken note of your opinions and will remember them next time we want to go out as a family.” Dick rolled his eyes, stepping closer to Tim’s side. “God forbid we do anything like _normal_ people do.” 

Damian kicked him in the hip. 

“I mean, it was a nice idea. And I’ll admit I had fun up to this point. It’s been a long time since I’ve had fair food. And that haunted hayride was _spectacularly_ cheesy.” Tim tried, reaching out to steady himself on the peeling blue wall as one of the little girls gave a shriek and latched herself onto his torso. Dick sighed as he put a hand on Damian’s head and crouched next to Tim, glancing up to watch as Jason was thrown into rollercoaster that loomed above them. The wooden splinters cascading down on them forced him to bury his face in Damian’s hair as Tim continued. “I’m just saying we should be _out there_ , with the girls.” 

“I have a mask in my pocket.” Damian’s muffled voice said. “And I can use a wooden board from this fence as a weapon.” 

“Waynes aren’t fighters.” Dick reminded them. “The most we can do right now is crowd control.” 

Damian scoffed. “I _hate_ crowd control.” 

“I know you do.” Dick nodded sympathetically.

“And anyway!” Damian pushed his hands against Dick’s chest, leaning back to stare at him. “Todd is a Wayne! So is Cain!”

“Jason’s still legally dead, so _technically_ not.” Tim explained, almost pouting. “And Cass…does what she wants.” 

Before Damian could throw a fit, Dick spoke up. “I tried to grab Cass too, after I grabbed you. She was too fast, and had already run after Stephanie.” 

Damian groaned, slumping back against Dick’s chest, staring at the children still sobbing in Tim’s arms. 

“I know,” Dick cooed mockingly, petting Damian’s head once. Tim just shook his head. “It’s tough being a Wayne, isn’t it?” 

Before either Tim or Damian could retort to the barb, there was a crash from inside the rollercoaster, followed by another exploding through the wooden fence a few yards away. 

“Wayne or not, Todd is going to force us to pay _a lot_ in property damage.” Damian mumbled, ducking his head against Dick’s arm as the cloud of smoke rolled towards them. The little girls’ shrieks became quiet, shaky breaths as they hid in Tim’s embrace. 

“Shit.” Tim whispered as the cloud began to clear. Standing there was a group of five people. At least, they had all _assumed_ these henchmen were people. They all had a strange sort of scarecrow costume on, complete with maliciously grinning Jack-o-lanterns as heads, and straw peeking out of the their sleeves and pants. “Shit, shit, _shit_. Dick, that’s not-” 

The sentence wasn’t out of his mouth before three shadows swooped down. There were a few snaps and hisses, and suddenly the dust cloud shifted from a dirty tan to cloudy grey. 

“Mister Grayson, Mister Wayne, please don’t move.” The commanding but gentle tone of Batgirl – of Barbara – echoed through the long corridor. “We have your locations locked, and would rather not get you confused with the…um… Pumpkinmen.” 

“But if _Little Wayne_ accidentally wanders away from the group, no one would blame you.” Stephanie’s cheerful voice sounded. “Great Pumpkin _knows_ Brat Wonder could use a proper beat down every so often.” 

Damian growled, “Brown, you-” 

“ _Spoiler_.” Cassandra’s short voice was all that was needed for reprimand. 

“Sorry, sorry.” Stephanie laughed. Lower, she mumbled. “You can’t tell me I’m wrong, though.” 

Neither Barbara nor Cassandra responded to her, and their voices were replaced with the sounds of shouts, punches and collapses. Tim quietly tried to calm the little girls, shifting so they wouldn’t be able to see the fight, should the smoke clear. 

“We would have been _fine_.” Damian sneered. “We could have handled ourselves, even with the children present.” 

“Damian, do me a favor?” Dick asked, resting his chin in Damian’s hair as his eyes searched the smoke. 

“…what?” 

“ _Please_ shut up.” Dick sighed fondly, wrapping his arms tighter around Damian’s back as he stood. He could practically feel Damian’s glower as the alley began to clear. 

The Pumpkinmen were in an unconscious heap, the Jack-o-lantern masks removed and smashed a few feet away. Black Bat and Spoiler – not in uniform, but doing a great job of hiding their identities with their hair and civilian clothes – were in the process of handcuffing them, with Batgirl supervising. 

“Is…is it done?” One of the little girls asked timidly. “Is it over?” 

“I think so.” Tim whispered sweetly. “But let’s just wait for Miss Batgirl to give us the all-clear, okay?” 

Suddenly there was creaking of wood and a few thumps of the fence. Barbara spun around, and Damian shifted himself in Dick’s arms, positioning himself like he was ready to pounce forward at a moment’s notice. A few seconds later, Jason appeared over the top of the wall, helmet cracked and half of his face exposed. 

The little girls gave terrified shrieks. 

“What, the party’s over?” Jason asked almost drowsily, glancing across the way to the girls. Barbara sauntered over with a smirk and a nod. “Man, you guys ruin _all_ the fun.” 

“Tell me about it.” Damian mumbled. 

“It was Hatter.” Barbara sighed, turning to Dick. “We took down his thugs and got basically everyone out of the park. But the press knows the Waynes are still in here.” 

“I see the police coming.” Jason informed them, staring past the food stands. “Rounding the carousel now.” 

“Unfortunately, Hatter wasn’t here. Seems he executed this plan from afar.” Barbara continued. 

“Go after him.” Dick sighed. “We’ll catch up when we can.” 

Barbara nodded and turned, but was stopped when Damian reached out and grabbed her arm. “Wait.” He ordered. “How many Waynes do they think are here?” 

“At the tilt-a-whirl.” Jason drawled. “We gotta go, BG.” 

Barbara grinned and pulled her arm away. “Everyone but Bruce, Damian. _The Wayne family and some friends_ , is what the reporter said, I think.” She laughed. Dick glanced over to see Stephanie and Cassandra rounding the opposite corner, removing their hoods and putting up their hair, returning to how they looked when they’d entered the park. Obviously they were going to intercept the cops, say they were separated from the boys. “Sorry, buddy. You’re stuck as the _cute little brother_ until the police are done with you.” 

Damian huffed, pursing his lips as he crossed his arms. “Now I really _do_ hate you, Grayson.” 

“Girls got the cops.” Jason said. “But they’re at the cotton candy stand, so it only gives us _maybe_ thirty seconds.” 

“If we find him before you get there, we’ll save the first punch for you.” Barbara smiled, ruffling Damian’s hair before taking Jason’s proffered hand and jumping up the wall. “Promise.”

“You better.” Damian muttered as Barbara and Jason disappeared behind the wall. Not five seconds later, two officers rounded the corner, Stephanie hanging off one of their arms, talking quickly. When the group laid eyes on them, Stephanie gave a relived shriek, which was mimicked by the two little girls now holding Tim’s hands. Damian cringed at the sound. “This _sucks_.” 

“I know.” Dick gave him a wide smile. “But look at the bright side.” 

“ _What_ bright side?” Damian questioned as the police came forward and pulled them away from the unconscious men nearby. 

“At least you and Tim agree on something for once.” Dick tried, kissing Damian’s temple, the perfect image of a worried brother and citizen, as Stephanie passed them to envelope Tim in a hug. Damian rolled his eyes and squirmed, trying to force Dick to put him down. Instead, Dick just held him tighter, whispering excitedly, “It’s like a Halloween _miracle!_ ” 


End file.
